Taipei Travel

TAIPEI　#16 (2019 SUMMER)

Concentrate on Only One Thing: Haoniannian Pork Knuckle
Simmering, Braising, Marinating, and Boiling - Old Fast Food Restaurants of the 80s

WORDS BY Chen Shuting 
TRANSLATION BY Joe Henley 
PHOTOS BY Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government


BETTER WITH AGE
Busy as always in the shop known as “Haoniannian Pork Knuckle” (好年年豬腳), 80-year-old Li Sasheng (李灑生) stands by the counter, packaging the pork knuckles and simmering soup in bags with his workers. Some of the delicacies are for home delivery, and the others are for the daily dinner rush. It’s a scene that has played out day in and day out for decades. A few days later, these pork knuckles and simmered soup would be defrosted and heated, transforming them into a delicate memory of those who sit down to savor them at the family dinner table.

Born in 1939, Li Sasheng entered elementary school around the end of World War II. After graduating from high school, he became an employee in a bank, a highly sought-after position in that era! Five years later, he decided to take a job at his father’s aluminum pot factory, producing the thermoregulators for the pots. In order to understand the temperatures required for cooking with the pots more, he furthered his education again. This time, however, he studied recipes. Surprisingly, he became more interested in the recipes than the technical aspects of his new line of work. Cookware and condiments seemed to invite him to the kitchen as if they were friends. Somehow, his cooking skills surpassed those of his wife, and soon he was the master of the kitchen at home.
And yet, running a restaurant was totally brought about by coincidence. In 1976, his factory business was on the right track, and the economy in Taiwan was on the rise. He grasped the opportunity to develop a new sideline, founding a fast food restaurant selling chicken thigh and pork rib meal boxes with his elementary school classmate. The investment was very successful, and the shop expanded to a second floor the following year. A decade later, his friend was out, and Li re-opened the restaurant, establishing Haoniannian Fast Food Restaurant.

In 1996, then 58-year-old Li finally decided to focus his energy on being a restaurant operator. A decade later, the storefront was relocated to his own house on Xiyuan Road (西園路) in Wanhua, serving up pork knuckle dishes and nutritious and healthy soup, both of which were his signature dishes.

On the path from investing money to throwing himself into the business, Li always involves himself in every step of the operation of his restaurant, from management to dish design. His decision to select pork knuckles as his restaurant’s signature dish was the result of observing various kinds of pork knuckle restaurants in Taipei. He noticed that pork knuckles encompass the flavor of Taiwan, which is nearly impossible to replace. However, people often see it as a hassle to make the dish at home, and even if they are willing to take some time, the results are not necessarily guaranteed.​▲The health-preserving pork knuckle soup is light but sweet, leaving a mark in people’s memories.

Some say that Haoniannian has a nostalgic atmosphere, reminiscent of Taipei’s fast food restaurants in the 1980s. In fact, that is the old style insisted on by Li, right down to the philosophy of “If you’re going to do something, strive to be the best.” His care for his cuisine is reflected in the clean and tidy dining environment in his shop. There are many old restaurants in Wanhua, but those that will put on tablecloths are a rare sight indeed. Netizens have even heaped praise on the cleanliness of the restrooms. Li thinks, however, that such attention to detail is just a basic principle. He still prepares his marinating ingredients for pork knuckles in a white shirt and suit trousers every day. At the age of 80, he says that his time of retirement will eventually come, no matter how hard he tries to push forward. Before that, however, he’s still thinking about how to make the dishes better, even while dining or sleeping.

He seldom says he’s completely satisfied with this restaurant due to his high standards, but he is 100% sure that he loves what he’s doing. And because he loves it, it is always improving. Yet, Li always emphasizes that it’s not because he likes to eat that he works so hard in the kitchen, but because he simply likes to do things to the utmost. He also just happens to like to eat, too.​▲Haoniannian’s iconic dishes are pork knuckles and health-preserving simmered soups. The dishes on the table are the pride of Li Sasheng.  

SIMMERED & MARINATED PORK KNUCKLE AND CROCK-POT SIMMERED SOUP
Li’s first recipe book was a tome of almost 300 pages, and it’s been read so often from cover to cover that the pages are nearly ragged. It contains the simple practices of preparing dishes from Guandong (廣東), Beijing (北京), Fujien (福建), Jiangzhe (江浙), and Sichuan (四川). The book provides an enlightening insight into his cooking skills as well as the essence of his knowledge of cooking.​▲Delicious pork knuckles take a lot of care and time to prepare. 

Li’s iconic Simmered and Marinated Pork Knuckle has been through various improvements over the years. Li specifically chooses fore knuckles, which are more flexible than the hind ones. Cured and boiled, the knuckles should also be marinated for three hours at night. After that, the stove is turned off and the knuckles are soaked in sauce for the rest of the night. The next day, the knuckles are dry-roasted on the stove over a small fire. The knuckles would then be full of flavor. The fat is not greasy, and the meat is of a fine texture. His secret ingredients are difficult to discern since more than 20 kinds of Chinese herbs are used in addition to more than 10 kinds of condiments and sauces such as rice wine, Shaoxing wine (紹興), saccharum tops and homemade caramel. Currently, these materials are only prepared by Li and his daughter. Each measurement must be careful to avoid even slight differences between separate pots of pork knuckles.​▲Delicious pork knuckles take a lot of care and time to prepare. 

Li’s Crock-Pot Simmered Soup series is another iconic dish. Chicken Soup with Bamboo Fungus and Gastrodia, Golden Ophiocordyceps Chicken Soup, and Fresh Ginseng Chicken Soup are all prepared by him. In order to get the best ratio of ingredients, he has to drink more than ten bowls of soup every day. Should one want to make the soup clear and strong, two tips must be followed. First, mix two kinds of meat for braising, such as chicken and pork ribs. This can make the flavor of the soup even tastier. And second, regular crock-pot soups are usually cooked with charcoal or braised in steamers for two to three hours. However, Li takes his experience of using thermoregulators in the past, carefully controlling the flame on the stove, and simmers them for more than ten hours at a consistent temperature of just over 70°C. As such, every ingredient and Chinese herb melts in your mouth, while the meat is still be soft and pliable.​▲Delicious pork knuckles take a lot of care and time to prepare. 

Whether making simmered and marinated pork knuckle or crock-pot simmered soup, Li always starts from the simple concept of adhering to his own high standards. He can only present his dishes to the customers if he’s satisfied, reassured, and appreciative of the pork knuckles marinated for his family and the Chinese herb soups that nourish his own body. This is his greatest pride, the force that sustained him throughout the decades, from following the steps of a recipe to entering the kitchen as a master of the culinary arts.▲Mixing two kinds of meat in the crock-pot for braising is the secret of making the meat sweet and soft.​​​​​​​

Haoniannian Pork Knuckle (好年年豬腳)
314-1, Sec. 1, Xiyuan Rd., Wanhua Dist. Monday to Saturday,
 6:30am - 8:30pm ; Closed on Sunday